Abstract

This study aims to illustrate the political inequality and the lack of representativeness of the U.S. presidential election system by analyzing the flaws of the Electoral College system. Increasingly influenced by political polarization, money, and social media, nowadays the U.S. presidential election has become more susceptible to being manipulated so the winner's governance ability cannot be guaranteed. The U.S. presidential electoral system needs to be reformed to better reflect the will of the people, ensure democratic legitimacy, and achieve effective governance.

Highlights

  • This study aims to illustrate the political inequality and the lack of representativeness of the U.S presidential election system by analyzing the flaws of the Electoral College system

  • The direct election was an unrealistic method at that time because of the lack of resources and transportation, and constitution-makers were skeptical of common citizens‟ ability and awareness of participating in politics

  • Each of the three electoral votes represents 177,556 people, which means that people in Wyoming enjoys 3.18 times as much clout in the Electoral College as an average American (FairVote, n.d.)

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Summary

Winner-Take-All

The constitution of 1787 gave the power to determine the electoral method of individual electors to each state. A candidate will win the electoral votes in the state as long as he or she wins a plurality instead of a true majority of votes, even the percentage of vote is under 50% (Golder, 2006). This system violates the democratic principle of majority rule. In this way, if the plurality of electoral votes for the state is 30%, anyone who has not voted in that 30% will not be represented by the electors (Marlowe, 2020). Vol 7, No 2; 2022 divergence between the popular vote and the electoral vote aggravated the unrepresentative of the citizen‟s wishes and proved the undemocratic nature of the system (Marlowe, 2020) because it makes some people‟s voices not matter at all

Big States Hold Small States Hostage
A Two-Party System
Ballot Access
Battleground States and Safe States
The Exorbitant Entrance Fee
Money Politics
What Have Investors Got?
10. Manipulation in the Digital Age
11. Wrong Winner
12. Solutions Proposed
13. Election Plus Selection
Findings
14. Conclusion
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